Maek o



(Ho Modei.)

M. 0. SHRIVER.

Penoe' Post.

No. 233,565. Patented Oct. 19,1880.

N. PETERS. PHOTO-LIYHOGRAPNER, WASHINGTO UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

MARK O. SHRIVER, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

FENCE-POST.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,565, dated October 19, 1880.

Application filed March 15, 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARK 0. SHRIVER, of the city of Baltimore and State of Maryland, have invented certain Improvements in Fence- Posts, of which the following is a specification; and I do hereby declare that in the same is contained a full, clear, and exact description ofmy said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

This invention refers to an improved base for a fence-post, or a device adapted to receive and secure the lower end of a fence-post and it consists in a plate having a pointed bar pro- 1 jecting from its under surface, fitted to drive in the ground, the said plate being provided with locking devices, whereby the fence-post, when placed on the said plate or inserted in a socket therein, may be secured against accidental displacement or removal.

It further consists in certain details of construction of the said device, as will hereinafter fully appear.

In the further description of my said invention which follows, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in which Figure I is an exterior side view of the invention and a portion of a fence which is secured thereto. Fig. II is a vertical section of the invention on the dotted line 001, Fig. I. Fig. 111 is a plan of the invention.

Similar letters of reference indicate similar parts in all the views.

In the said drawings, A is a plate, the upper surface of which is rounded, in order to prevent water from standing. thereon. B is a bar projecting from the under side of the plate A;

which is tapered toward its lower end to admit of its being easily driven in the ground. The said bar may have a circular, polygonal, or irregular cross-section, as preferred, and it is furnished with wings a, which extend laterally therefrom, or in the same direction as the fence-rails, to give greater stability to the device and increase its resistance to displacement when force is applied to the fence.

-The fence-post shown in connection with the invention consists of two boards erected vertically upon the plate A, the rails being secured between them. The lower end of the post is fastened to the plate A by means of locking devices, which consist of bolts (J, resting in suitable sockets, and provided with spirally-shaped sharpened projections I) on one side thereof. The said bolts have lugs c at their lower end, to prevent the withdrawal of the said bolts after they have been inserted in their sockets and turned. To admit of theinsertion of the bolts (3 to their sockets the plate and the material surrounding the sockets are grooved, the said grooves being slightly wider than the lugs c, as shown in the drawings.

The plate A inay have other sockets, as illustrated in dotted lines, Fig. III, to accommodate posts of greater width than the one shown, if desired.-

In erecting the fence the post-bases are embedded in the ground at a proper distance apart, after which the posts are placed in position and locked thereat by means of the lockin g devices before described.

The operation of locking the posts when the bolts 0 are in place is performed by merely turning the said bolts by means of a wrench or key sufficiently to force the sharpened projections 1) into the post when the same is of wood, or over projections or into depressions when the post is of iron or other hard material. By having the projections b of spiral form, as shown, the post, in addition to being secured laterally, is also drawn down tightly to the plate A.

I claim as my invention A base for a fence-post, consisting of the plate A and tapering bar B, combined with the revoluble bolts (J, having the projection b thereon, substantially as herein specified.

MARK 0. SHRIVER.

\Vitnesses:

J N0. '1. MADDOX, WM. '1. HOWARD. 

